Submitted by: GirlfriendBorn: 1988 Died: 2014My Tribute: For my sweet Ian whom passed away from overdose.. Although you struggled so hard, you fought even harder. I miss you everyday and I love you dearly. I'm struggling to understand that you are gone and how it came to this. But I cherish what we had even more.. Your sweet smile, kind heart and loving soul that you showed me for 4 years are what I hold close to me. I hate seeing your family going through such heartache.. Always there for them. We hold each other close. And keep you close to us.

Submitted by: Kate, his motherBorn: 1993 Died: 2014My Tribute: Our community has tragically lost a valued member of the Allen family of Lafayette. We will never know the full magnitude of our loss, as Kieran never reached his adult potential. We cherish 20 years of happy memories with Kieran.

Kieran was born an 11-pound, beautiful baby with gorgeous blue eyes. He was full of life, energy, and mischief. His brother, Patrick, was his best friend from the day he born, only 14 months apart. Kieran was raised by his close-knit extended family, and was blessed to have Julia in his life, his high-school sweetheart and the love of his life. Colter was Kieran’s best friend, and many high school buddies and family friends mourn his loss.

Kieran was quiet, sweet, sensitive, deep-thinking, intelligent, strong-willed, and sharp-witted. He was a gifted artist, self-taught guitar player, and an articulate writer. We cherish his many clay figures, sketches, paintings, poems, and songs. He loved to cook; his favorite recipe being macaroni and cheese, which he made from scratch, served with chocolate milk. We have many fond memories of Kieran at Stinson Beach, which was his favorite place on earth.

Kieran fought very hard to overcome his disabilities and addictions. As a family, we are heartbroken at his tragic loss. We learned unconditional love, patience, and compassion from Kieran, and we are grateful to have had him in our lives.

He is buried beside his father at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma, California.

Submitted by: June McdermotttBorn: 1984 Died: 2014My Tribute: My son William died of an overdose 7/31/14 , he had been clean for 2 months. He left behind a 1 yr old son, still can't believe he's gone. Like so many others our hearts and family are broken. Miss you so much William! Love mom

Submitted by: Carin CeresBorn: 1987 Died: 2014My Tribute: My son Stephen died tragically on August 3,2014 of a heroin overdose. He had just turned 27. He had a bright future which drugs took away from him. He had been clean for a year.
He is missed so much by his family and friends. We LOVE you Stephen! Mom

Submitted by: jodi sandersBorn: 1981 Died: 2014My Tribute: Jesse was the love of my life. .The father to our 2.5 year old Bliss. He was an amazing man who fought the demons of addiction most of his life. He was a hard worker..a man of God and lost the battle after many attempts at rehabs and struggle. He is missed daily and his legacy will live on through our daughter.

Submitted by: Kathy Keenan - MomBorn: 1990 Died: 2014My Tribute: Andrew's courageous battle with addiction ended on December 19, 2014 with a heroin overdose. Andrew fought hard against this horrendous disease that finally took him from us. He left behind two loving parents, a 14-year-old sister that adored him, a 36-year-old brother who yearned to see his brother clean, a devoted fiancée and his beautiful 17-month old daughter. We buried our son two days after Christmas, remembering the promise of life through the meaning of Christmas and the birth of Jesus.

Andrew was kind, loving and incredibly artistic who had so many hopes and dreams. We are so proud of the man that he was and the strength that he exhibited throughout 2014 as he successfully navigated rehab during the summer and obtained employment where he quickly was promoted to management. He had a vision to re-start his life anew with his fiancée and baby girl and had secured housing for a targeted move in date of January 17, 2015.

But his final relapse took all of those hopes and dreams of a "normal" life away. In its place we are faced with the reality of the ultimate consequence of heroin addiction. It is a struggle that he fought everyday and the war that he fought was written on his face during his final weeks. The heroin had stolen Andrew's happiness and peace and this is excruciating for parents to witness, trying everything you know to stop the speeding train without any success. The final hug from Andrew was one that I will never forget. It's as if Andrew knew it would be our last. He held on tightly for a very long period of time...and when I started to pull away, he pulled me closer. His sister received the same hug. We made sure that our last words were "I love you" and Andrew thanked me for all that we have done for him. All of these were later recognized as a gift from God.

Andrew had a faith in God that could not be eradicated by poor choices and the disease of addiction. We are fully assured that Andrew is with our Lord and the pain of depression and addiction have been erased and he is now rejoicing with his Savior. We ache to feel that hug again here on earth but know that we will once again have that warm embrace when we see him in heaven. We miss you Andrew and are so proud of you and love you unconditionally. You fought a hero's fight and we are not ashamed to tell your story. Your daughter will know that her father was a man of character who wanted nothing more in this life than to be a good father to her. The addiction did not define you but it stole from you every good thing that you hoped for. Rest easy son until we meet again.

Submitted by: Joanne ShigoBorn: 1988 Died: 2014My Tribute: My Godson and Nephew Joseph was born on December 12, 1988 and died on December 14, 2014.... just 26 years old to a heroin overdose. He was born pre-mature at only 2lb.9oz. and fought like hell to live. Until he met the dreaded drug heroin then so much changed in spite of his still fighting like hell to live. He was clean for over 90 days of all substances but lost the battle like so many others. He was bright, funny and a joy to us all. Our family will never be the same without him, but the memories and his joy will be in our hearts always.

Submitted by: His motherBorn: 1991 Died: 2009My Tribute: My son died on his 18 th birthday of an overdose. I was the fortunate mother who found him, unresponsive, but was not able to breathe life back into him. He was so talented and loving. We have grieved for 6 years and sadly the pain has not lessened. As my friend says, it is the softening of the hardest pain.

A son’s death and a mother’s love. This is the story of Josh Olt who overdosed on heroin and died at the age of 16. This is the story of the mother he left behind. It is not a story of “moving on,” or “getting over it.” For those of you who have lost someone you love to overdose, you know those things don’t happen. This is, instead, a story of disenfranchised grief, of self-blame, of what-ifs, of should-haves, and how to find a way to let go of that guilt.

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